Yeah my only point is that they are getting better and we should see what we have here. 7/10 is completely arbitrary.
Ok but the way this team is constructed and the phase we are in right now we can't wait two more seasons for TT and Dion to reach the level that we expect them to.
It really comes down to this. Kyrie is our best player and we need to take advantage of the fact that he's still on his rookie deal (soon to be offered an extension) and he's an All Star right now. Not a potential All Star like Dion and TT. He's an All Star right now. It would be great if Dion and TT could become All Stars in two seasons but what about now?
If Kyrie is our only All Star player for the next two seasons then how good do you expect us to be?
How much better in two seasons will Dion and TT be than they are now? I see them both as decent role players and their ceiling is fringe All Stars depending on how the state of the league is with injuries like this season which will take at least sure fire All Stars out of the game this year and allow a guy like Jeff Teague or Aaron Afflalo to make the team.
One other thing that you forget to mention is
if Dion and TT do become fringe All Stars than they are gonna command market value for their extensions. I'm sorry but from what I've seen from TT and Dion I'm not willing to shell out Taj Gibson money to TT or Klay Thompson (when he gets his extension) money to Dion. TT and Dion are young and I understand that but look at this
Kyrie - Our max player, our top dollar guy
Deng - If we sign him to a long term extension then he's most likely our 3rd option which is fine because he played that role well in CHI with Rose and Boozer
Now here is where things get tricky.
There has to be another All Star player on this team who's a second option to Kyrie. I'll only list players who I think we have a realistic chance at acquiring
C - Marc Gasol, Monroe, Cousins, Brook Lopez
PF - Love, Horford, Bosh, Blake Griffin
SG - Lance Stephenson, Klay
Assuming we have Kyrie and Deng for the future than that 3rd wheel so to speak will be a PF, C, or SG
Remember Chris Grant didn't assemble this team to keep all of these young guys. if some of them out perform their expectations than that will increase the return we'll get for trading them. We have to start looking at the players on this roster not named Kyrie or Deng as assets. That's what they are. None of them have displayed the ability or showed from what I've seen (and probably Chris Grant) that they can be that second All Star player to pair with Kyrie long term. If they did than we would be a hell of a lot better than we are right now.
You can't watch this team and honestly say that Dion or TT who are our next two best players when you factor in age next to Kyrie and Deng are going to be that 2nd All Star option between Kyrie and Deng. I love Deng, he's one of my favorite players but this team isn't winning a championship with Kyrie and Deng as our top two options. It's going to take us acquiring one of those players I mention earlier and rounding out the roster with solid vets for a contending team.
Guys like Afflalo, Robin Lopez, Sefaloshia, Gortat, Tyson Chandler, Korver, Jarrett Jack, David Lee, OJ Mayo, Marion. These are the types of players we'll need once we get that 2nd All Star. I'm sure Chris Grant will have the ability to trade for players of that caliber. I think these group of player are what we should expect from Dion and TT. That's not completely bad because there are some All Stars in that group and some really solid players. The issue is I can see TT accepting the role of one of those guys but not Dion. That plus the Lebron connection that TT has and his chemistry with Kyrie leads me to believe that we are more likely to keep TT than Dion long term. Depending on who that second All Star is we might have to give up both of them.
TT and Dion are ok young players but we are getting really really close to the point in the rebuild where Chris Grant and the rest of the organization need to start figuring out which of these young guys are we gonna keep here with Kyrie. As of now it seems like TT is the one who is most likely to stay long term. It all depends on who Chris Grant can acquire and what's it going to cost us.